This is a place for lessons learned & shared. A love for the Lord & frugal living; for homemade food, personal care, health care, home care & Bible-centered herbalism. And, after having homeschooled for 16 years, a heart for the homeschool community.

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Marmee's Pantry is about to become a REALITY!!

Hoping to open March 3rd, 2018!!

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Hello ~ I'm Marmee

"Feminism is mixed up with the muddled idea that women are free when they serve their employers but slaves when they help their husbands." ~G. K. Chesterson

About Me

I am a Christian wife & mom. We homeschooled for 16 great years, 11 of which I lovingly served as Miami County Ohio's homeschool co-ordinator, 7 years writing for The Old Schoolhouse homeschool magazine & serving as their Ohio coordinator & even though my heart will always be in the homeschool community, I feel the need to expand & move on into another area that is close to my heart ~ frugal living . . . including, but not limited to, money-saving tips; homemade food, personal care, health care, home cleaning; herbalism, etc. I am also a writer for the Christian Women's Voice magazine, a writer for The Biblical Herbal e-magazine, an herbalist, a free-lance writer, & a speaker on homeschooling, Christian women's issues, frugal living & herbs ~ I would be honored to speak to your group or at your retreat! Attempting to honor the Lord in all I do.

THE Man

". . . when I found the one my heart loves. I held him & would not let him go . . ."~Song of Songs 3:4

I've Got Sunshine on a Cloudy Day ~ My Girls!

"One thing remember, my girls: mother is always ready to be your confidant, father to be your friend; & both of us trust & hope that our daughters, whether married or single, will be the pride & comfort of our lives." ~Marmee~ Little Women

Jessica ~ An Angel Then, A REAL Angel Now ~ Read Her Story Here . . .

Oct. 1985~Jan. 1986

Many times in my life I have been asked something like, "How do you survive hard times or when bad things happen to you?" My answer is generally a version of: "You have to weigh your loses in light of the best & the worst ~ My best: this is not my eternal home, I have a Savior who paid for my sins & has prepared an incredible place for me to spend eternity w/Him; my worst: I've buried a child, all else pales in comparison." ~Kim Wolf<><

I am on my feet walking, walking, walking all day at my job at the health food store. Some days I wish I had a pedometer on so that I cou...

Pantry Peeps!

A True Home . . .

"A true home is one of the most sacred of places. It is a sanctuary into which men flee from the world’s perils and alarms. It is a resting-place to which at close of day the weary retire to gather new strength for the battle and toils of tomorrow. It is the place where love learns its lessons, where life is schooled into discipline and strength, where character is molded." ~J.R. Miller

I am Elizabeth Bennet!!

"In misfortune or disaster, what lofty heroism does she exhibit & what courage does her bravery kindle in her husband's heart! Instead of being crushed by the unexpected loss, she only then rises to her full grandeur of soul. Instead of weeping, repining & despairing, & thus adding tenfold to the burden of the misfortune, she cheerfully accepts the changed circumstances & becomes a minister of hope & strength. She turns away from luxury & ease to the plainer home, the simpler life, the humbler surrounding ~ without a murmur. It is in such circumstances & experiences that the heroism of woman's soul is manifested." ~Home-Making by J.R. Miller {1882}

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Instead of celebrating darkness, let's celebrate this day with something God-given ~ Reformation Day. The historic day when Martin Luther nailed the 95 Thesis to the church door. The birth of the Protestant faith.

Monday, October 29, 2012

There's nothing like getting away from it all ~ no T.V., no radio, no computers ~ and spending some quality time with friends while we all grow in the Lord . . . Nothing.

And this past weekend, that's just what I did. And while there, I had the privilege of leading worship. I do believe that this was my favorite retreat; the theme was Cozy Mountain Lodge & the Bible study was on the book of Ruth. Fantastic!

The retreat took place at one of my favorite places, Golden Eagle Retreat Center in rural Palestine, Ohio. The building, itself, is an old school that has been lovingly, beautifully & extensively re-done. The classrooms have been remodeled into dorm rooms with custom made bunk beds with comfy mattresses & each bed has a thick, fluffy, cooshie down comforter. This was our room . . .

As we all arrived, we congregated in the entry hall, where yummy snacks awaited us.

Soon, we all began to gather in the gym, where our most of our meeting time would be . . .

Each lady received a lovely goodie bag with a lesson book, a CD of all the music we would be singing, treats and other little thoughtful goodies. And each table was set up to catch the Northwoods mood.

We even had a little camp-site ~ put up a camp chair & sit around the fire!

First order of the evening, after everyone was welcomed, was the first of our yummy country meals. All served with love & a smile from the kitchen staff.

As I mentioned earlier, I had the privilege of leading worship . . .

One of our lessons included trying to make something out of what life hands you. We were given a bag of "stuff" & tried to make a house out of it. Here's our table's work of art ;-) . . .

We had such great speakers, all ladies from our own church, each covered a particular topic gleaned from the book of Ruth . . .

An on-going project for each lady was the building of a little log cabin. After some of the studies, an item was added ~ the foundation, the supporting walls, the roof & the welcoming open front door. With the addition of each part, we added our own touch to them. I won't share what they were, exactly, because they are personal to myself & each lady, but we wrote a particular something on the foundation, our table-mates wrote special messages to us on a particular piece, a special Scripturewas added to the roof interior, etc. Here's some of the process of my cabin . . .

Table-mates changed from time-to-time, here's a pic of one of my groups . . .

On one of our days, we did a service project. We each put together a barley soup mix to give to someone who would need it ~ for someone who has had a baby, facing a hard time, needs cheering, etc. We prayed over whoever would receive our soup as a group. . .

Another very special time was on the last day, as we were exploring how God builds each room of our homes, & what eachroom means to us, we all received a heart-shaped necklace with two Scripture verses on them ~ Psalm 46:1 & Psalm 23:6. In the future, as we see each one of us wearing our necklaces from time-to-time, it will remind us of a very special weekend we shared together that grew us closer to each other & to the Lord.

Friday, October 26, 2012

This weekend, the ladies at our church will be on our annual Women's Retreat. I am honored & excited to be leading worship. Our theme is Cozy Mountain Lodge & it looks to be incredible. I have a feeling this will be one of my favorite retreats.

I'm looking forward to our study in the book of Ruth, fellowship with our church friends, good home cookin', comfy beds with down comforters, massage, a service craft to benefits others, hayride, bonfire, s'mores, movie night, hot cider, hot chocolate, crisp temperatures, colorful leaves . . . and the best thing . . . growing closer to the Lord.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

"Boaz replied, 'I've been told all about what you have done . . . ' . . . And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character." ~Ruth 2:11(a); 3:11

This weekend, the women of our church will be atour annual Women's Retreat. The topic of the weekend will be the book of Ruth. Ruth has much to teach us about family relatonships, taking godly advice, honor, devotion; and Boaz, her Kinsmen-Redeemer, represents a fore-shadowing of Jesus as ourRedeemer.

Something I admire about our Bible heroes is that God lets us glimpse their imperfections. It lets me know that He can use even me ~ even you. Just as God used this little woman who came to Naomi's family from a different people, He can use those of us who came from different faiths ~ or even no faith at all ~ and build us into the people He can use.

Things couldn't have been easy for Ruth, but she was teachable of the things of the Lord. As she grew in her love and devotion for her husband and his family, so she also grew in her love and devotion to their God, the One True God. And He became her God. In spite of mistakes I'm sure she made, as she was no different than us, her reputation as a godly, honorable "woman of noble character" went before her.

We are not perfect; the Christian walk is a walk of continual growth. We may stumble along the way, but let us try to walk humbly and with devotion to our Lord. Let us walk in such a way that ournoble character precedes us.

Monday, October 22, 2012

"I don't want to
look strange or fixed up today," she said. "I don't want a
fashionable wedding, but only those about me whom I love, and to them I
wish to look and be my familiar self." . . . ~Little Women, Ch. 25

Last Friday, THE Man & I gave away a piece of our hearts~ We gave our oldest darling daughter away in marriage.

One of our girls' life-long friends always said that she would like to get married in the rain, well, if she were still in this area & could have attended the wedding, she would have thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a blustery, chilly, RAINY ~ but other-wise beautiful ~ fall day for an outdoor wedding on a farm. And it was lovely & heart-felt.

Farm gazebo & barn where the reception was.

Our two girls ~ all grown up & lovely young women. They are my heart.

At rehearsal, the night before, it was cold & windy & we were still hoping to be able to be seated during the ceremony while the wedding party would be under the gazebo.

Our pastor officiated the ceremony & kept everyone in line during the rehearsal. He & his wife are dear family friends. Pastor Tom dedicated DD#1 to the Lord as an infant, baptized her in a creek when she was 11years old & now has officiated at her wedding. What a special man.

Well, it may have been dry under the gazebo, but it wasn't otherwise, so we (& everyone else) had to watch the wedding under the cover of a large awning about 20 feet away. Thank goodness for wireless mics or so that we could hear the ceremony.

THE Man, walking our baby into her future . . .

. . . and, there, he gave her away.

Mr. & Mrs. "J"!

I am SO proud of my darling daughter ~ other than baking the wedding cupcakes, she MADE EVERY decoration that was there ~ from her bouquet, attendants' bouquets, the men's boutonniers, the isle decorations, the table center-pieces & favours, the cupcake tiers, wedding party's gifts . . . EVERYTHING. She worked very hard & it really paid off. It was all gorgeous.

Life-long friends who are more like family.

New family ~ DD#1's new Mother-in-Love.

And let's not forget that we finally have a SON! :-)

"They stood watching
her, with faces full of love and hope and tender pride, as she walked
away, leaning on her husband's arm, with her hands full of flowers, and
the [October moonlight] brightening her happy face, ~ and so [J's] married
life began."~Modified from Little Women ~ Ch. 25